Apparatus for liquid treatment of filamentary material



June 13, 1944. H. o. DAVIDSON ETAL 2,351,110

APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATMENT OF FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed April 30'.1942 INVENTOR. HDEHRT U .UFW/DSUN HENR- YJ.

MCUEFMUTT ATTO Patented June 13, 1944 APPARATUS FOR LIQUID TREATllh/ENTF JFKLAMEN'KARY MATERIAL Hobart ll. Davidson, Swarthmore, and Henry J.ll llclllermott, Prospect Park, lla., assignors to American ViscoseCorporation, Wilmington,

Deb, a corporation of Delaware Application April 30, 1942, Serial No.441,202 6 Claims. (o1. 68-147) filaments, twisted or untwisted, spunyarns, cords or the like.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device which is capable ofefficiently treating filamentary material uniformly with the desiredliquid with a minimum expenditure for equipment outlay, for the liquiditself, and for the cost of pumping it. A further object of theinvention is to maintain good liquid contact with the filamentarymaterial throughout the length to be treated. Another object is toprovide such a device presenting a minimum of frictional contact withthe thread treated. A further object is to provide means for threadingsuch a device in an improved andefi'ective manner. Further objects ofthe invention will be apparent from the drawing and the descriptionthereof hereinafter.

In the drawing, illustrative of the invention,

Figure 1 is a side view of the outer shell or casing of the device,

Figure 2 is a top view of the outer shell,

Figure 3 is a side view of the inner shell or casing of the device,

Figure 4 is a top view of the inner shell,

Figure 5 is a front view of a guide shown attached to the bottom of thedevice in Figure 1,

Figure 6 isa top view of the guide,

Figure 7 is a top View of the assembled device with the shellspositioned for threading, and

Figure 8 is a top view of the assembled device with the shells in closedposition for operation.

The device shown in the drawing comprises essentially two shells, one ofwhich fits rotatably within the other. Figure 1 shows the outer shell2-whlch has an open end at the top, a liquid inlet 3 at the side, and acentral perforation 4 in the bottom for accommodating the filamentarymaterial as it enters or leaves the liquid treating cell. The foot ofthe outer shell is provided with a slot 5 entering from one side thereoffor accommodating in a readily detachable manner back and sides of theperforation form with a thread-guiding channel I! formed in the body ofthe guide a continuous guiding surface for filamentary material.

As more clearly shown in Figure 2, a continuous vertical slot I2 isformed in the wall of the outer shell, and communicates with apreferably convergent slot l3 formed in the bottom of the outer shellwhich is joined to the central perforation t therein by a narrowextension IQ of the slot, The top edge of the shell is cut away at Itabout the arc of approximately though the size of this angle is not inany way critical. One end l5 of this cut away portion is formed as aninclined plane, more particularly shown in Figure 1, while the other Itmay be vertical.

The inner shell, which is adapted to fit rotatably within the outershell 2 shown in Figure 1 comprises an open-ended cylindrical bodyportion ll, a bottom It! centrally perforated at IS, a vertical slot 20communicating with the perforation l9 at the bottom in a manner similarto the vertical slot of the outer shell. A slot 2| extends horizontallyabout the shell at a distance from the bottom such that it is inalignment with the inlet 3 of the outer shell. The inner shell may alsohave an overflow opening 22 and it is provided with a tongue or lever 23which preferably has one of its side faces .24 inclined to cooperatewith the inclined face IS in the cut away portion ll of the outer shellin Figures 1 and 2.

The assembled device is shown in Figure 7 with the vertical slots l2 and20 in both the inner and outer shells in approximate registry so thatthe device may be readily threaded merely by inserting a length of the lilamentary material bodily into the central chamber 25 within the innershell through the communicating slots. After the threading of thedevice, the lever 23 may be turned to the position of Figure 8 in whichevent the slot 20 in the inner shell is closed by the wall of the outershell 2 and conversely the slot l2 in the outer shell is closed by thewall of the inner shell I! except at the overfiow opening 22 therein.The inlet opening 3 of the outer shell is preferably in alignment withthe inlet slot 2| of the inner shell at all times so that the pressureof the liquid does not tend to force the innershell out of the outershell. The inclined surface 24 on the leading edge of the turning lever23 cooperates with the inclined face I5 of the cutaway portion in thetop edge of the outer shell so that the inner shell is forced downwardlyby the exertion of pressure on the lever as it is any suitable support,such as a twisting machine,

winding machine, artificial silk spinning machine, and the like. Thedevice may be mounted vertically or at any angle to the horizontal andthe filamentary material may run upwards through the device or downwardstherethrough.

A There is only one point of thread bearing which is on the guide at thebottom of the device. In normal operation, most of the surplus liquidwill fiow through the perforation at the bottom of the device, lettingany momentary excessive quantities resulting from surges in the fluidsupply system to be handled by the overfiow opening so that, constantliquidlevel is maintained. The guide surface H is preferably curved asshown to divert any liquid tending to flow down the filamentary materialaway from it into a gutter or catch-basin positioned therebelow. Theposition of the liquid inlets'3 and 2| may be changed as desired, theposition shown in Figures 1 and 3 being preferred where the filamentarymaterial travels upwardly and is to be treated by a medium for raisingits temperature, which treatment may advantageously be applied tofilaments while undergoing stretching in processes known asstretch-spinning processes.

The liquid treating device of this invention may be employed to transferheat to the filamentary .material by means of a heated liquid or toremove heat by means of a cooling liquid, to wash freshly spunartificial silk filamentary material, to otherwise treat such material,such as to desulphurize in the viscose process, or they may be employedto apply lubricating, softening, or conditioning agents for bothartificial and natural filamentary material. One or more of the devicesof the invention may be attached to artificial silk spinning machines orother types of machines for handling both artificial and naturalfilaments or one or more such devices may be assembled into a unitarymachine specifically designed for performing the specific liquidtreatment of the filamentary material therein.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, it is tobe understood that changes and variations may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for treating filamentary material with liquidscomprising an outer casing having an internal generally cylindricalsurface, an inner casing having an external generally cylindricalsurface and rotatably mounted in the outer casing with their-cylindricalsurfaces in liquid sealing engagement, openings at opposite ends of saidcasings for entrance and discharge of the filamentary material withrespect to the interior of the inner casing, the opening at the lowerend of said chamber being relatively small to allow passage of thematerial with a minimum passage of liquid, a longitudinal slot in thewall of each casing communicating with the openings at the ends of itsrespective casing, an overflow opening extending through the side wallof the inner casing, means for rotating one casing with respect to theother to bring the slot of the outer casing alternately intocommunication with the slot and overflow opening of the inner casing,and liquid inlet passages in said casings arranged to be incommunication at least when the overflow opening is in communicationwith the slot in the outer casing. 2. An apparatus for treatingfilamentary material with liquids comprising an outer casing having aninternal generally cylindrical surface, an inner casing having anexternal generally cylindrical surface and rotatably mounted in theouter casing with their cylindrical surfaces in liquid sealingengagement, openings at opposite ends of said casings for entrance anddischarge of the filamentary material with respect to the interior ofthe inner casing, the opening at the lower end of said chamber beingrelatively small to allow passage of the material with a minimum passageof liquid, alongitudinal slot in the wall of each casing communicatingwith the openings at the ends of its respective casing, an overflowopening extending through the side wall of the inner casing, means forrotating one casing with respect to the other to bring the slot of r theouter casing alternately into communication with the slot and overflowopening of the inner casing, and liquid inlet passages in said casingsarranged to be in communication substantially throughoutthe relativerotatory motion of said casings.

3. An apparatus for treating filamentary ma; terial'with liquidscomprising two generally cylindrical shells, one rotatably mountedwithin the other with its surface in liquid sealing engagement with theinner surface of the other, forming a liquid-treating chamber,'openingsat opposite ends of said shells for entrance and discharge of thefilamentary material with respect to the chamber, a longitudinal slot inthe wall of each shell communicating with the openings at the ends ofits respective shell, means for rotat-' ing one shell with respect tothe other to bring its slot into and out of communication with the slotof the other, and liquid-inlet passages arranged in said shells to be incommunication in a position in which the slots are out of communication, and cooperating means on said shells for urging the innershell into tighter engagement with the outer shell upon relativerotationof the shells to the position in which the slots are out ofengagement.

4. An apparatus for treating filamentary material with liquidscomprising two generally cylindrical shells, one rotatably mountedwithin the other with its surface inliquid sealing engagement with theinner surface of the other, forming, a liquid treating chamber, openingsat oppositeends of said shells for entrance and discharge of thefilamentary material with respect to the chamber, a longitudinal slot inthe wall of each shell communicating with the openings at the ends ofits respective shell, means for.

upon relative rotation of the shells to the posi-' tion in which theslots are out of engagement.

5. An apparatus for treating filamentary material with liquidscomprising two generally cylindrical shells, one rotatably mountedwithin the other with its surface in liquid sealing engagement with theinner surface, forming a liquid-treating chamber, openings at oppositeends of said shells for entrance and discharge of the filamentarymaterial with respect to the chamber, 1

respective shell, a lever on the inner shell for rotating it withrespect to the outer shell to bring the slots of the two shells into andout of communication with each other, liquid-inlet passages in saidshells arranged to be in communication in the position in which theslots are out of communication, an inclined surface on the outer shelladapted to cooperate with the lever of the inner shell to urge the innershell into tighter engagement with said outer shell upon relativerotation of theshell to the position in which their slots are out ofengagement.

6. An apparatus for treating filamentary material with liquidscomprising two generally cylindrical shells, one rotatably mountedwithin the other with its surface in liquid sealing engagement with theinner surface, forming a liquidtreating chamber, openings at oppositeends of said shells for entrance and discharge of the filamentarymaterial with respect to the chamber, a longitudinal slot in the wall ofeach shell communication with the openings at the ends of its respectiveshell, a lever on the inner shell for rotating it with respect to theouter shell to bring the slots of the two shells into and out ofcommunication with each other, liquid-inlet passages in said shellsarranged to be in communication substantially throughout the relativerotatory motion of said casings, and inclined surface on the outer shelladapted to cooperate with the lever of the inner shell to urge the innershell into tighter engagement with said outer shell upon relativerotation of the shell to the position in which their slots are out ofengagement.

H. O. DAVIDSON. HENRY J. McDERMOTT.

